Fairy Tale
by libraflyter
Summary: Enchanted book. Sleeping Beauty. Insert Scooby Gang and you'll get the idea. A fluffy spuffy story. Now COMPLETE.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any related characters. That belongs to a man named Joss and all his friends. But I still get to play with them!  
  
Summary: Season Five, after Crush. This is what happens when you plot Spuffiness while watching Sleeping Beauty  
  
Feedback: Please!  
  
Prologue  
  
"What is in this box, Giles, rocks?" Buffy asked, as she lugged a big cardboard box into the Magic Box. It was big. And heavy. She hoped Giles appreciated this.  
  
Giles had gotten a shipment of various magical texts earlier that day. Since Buffy was there for training, he'd nominated her for the position of Chief Box Mover. Buffy didn't mind that much - at least it was better than brooding over her freaky stalker vampire, Spike. Just the idea that he believed he was in love with her gave her the heeby-jeebies.  
  
"Don't set it down there. Put it next to the bookcase."  
  
Buffy grumbled as she dragged herself and the box across the shop.  
  
"Here?"  
  
"No, you're too close to the glass figurines and crystals. A little to the left, please."  
  
Buffy shifted in the desired direction, her grip slipping as time passed.  
  
"This good?" She grunted. It had better be!  
  
Giles sighed. "That will do."  
  
Buffy set the box down with a thump. Giles winced. Some of those were priceless volumes of lore! Would his Slayer ever learn the value of a good book?  
  
Task done, Buffy started attacking the packing tape. "Let's see what we've got here." With all the finesse of a child on Christmas Day, Buffy ripped through the tape, and part of the box top as well.  
  
Inside were - BOOKS! Whoop-di-do. Not that she'd expected anything else, but there had been just the tiniest bit of hope for something cooler. Maybe even brightly colored books with big pictures, instead of moldy old brown ones.  
  
"Thank you for opening it, Buffy. Now will you help me unload them?"  
  
Ugh. A Slayer's work is never done.  
  
An hour later, they were almost done unloading the box. Buffy was convinced it had been enchanted to hold more than physically possible. Giles had recruited Xander and Willow to help him categorize and pile them. Anya stood over his shoulder, hounding him whenever he tried to take a particularly interesting volume and remove it from the inventory. "You bought that with the store money! If you want it, you must offer reimbursement!"  
  
"That the last of them?" Giles asked.  
  
Buffy peered into the depths of the box. Little bits of packing foam, some dust, and ooh! bubble wrap. Lots of bubble popping fun! As she reached in to get the bubble wrap, she noticed a book lying in a corner. Buffy wondered why she hadn't seen it before. It was big and shiny, with sparkles from jewels set in the cover.  
  
She pulled the book out.  
  
"Just this one."  
  
Giles nodded, holding out his hand to receive it. Buffy ignored him and set it in her lap. After carefully studying the cover, she realized the title was "Fairy Tales of Life". What was a fairy tale book doing with all these demony ones?  
  
"It's a book of fairy tales, Giles."  
  
"Hmm. That's interesting. I didn't include that in my order." He shrugged. "Probably slipped in by mistake. I'll have to call the suppliers, see if they have the shipping list."  
  
Buffy stroked the gilt edged cover. "Can I keep it?"  
  
"Certainly."  
  
"If you give us money."  
  
"Anya!"  
  
Buffy paid no mind to the resulting argument. Almost in a daze, she opened the book and started to flip through.  
  
Table of Contents. She scanned the list of stories, all of them done in a pretty, ornate type. Let's see, which one to choose. Cinderella, no. Hansel and Gretel - been there, done that. Blue Crest? Never heard of it. Hey. Sleeping Beauty. That was always her favorite, as a kid anyway. Page 73.  
  
The pages seemed to fly through her fingers as she sought the right one. The book started to glow.  
  
The rest of the room noticed the seriously supernatural occurrence taking place.  
  
"Buffy, put that book down!" Giles ordered. Whatever was going on could not be good.  
  
Buffy acted as if he had said nothing. Instead, her hand reached out to touch the title picture.  
  
Of a sharp spindle. 


	2. Chapter One

Many thanks to: twisty-treat, Sara, Livia, and ms trick  
  
Chapter One  
  
Willow watched as Giles yelled, "Buffy, put that book down!" When Buffy ignored him and touched whatever was inside that book, something HAPPENED.  
  
The world became all glowy and goldeny. It started around Buffy first, turning a sickly greenish glow upon touching her. Willow could only watch as her best friend fainted with a gasp. The glow then quickly spun out to encompass the entire room. Willow wished for something to hold onto as the magic engulfed her.  
  
There were bright colors dancing like fireworks in front of her eyes. Strange scents assailed her, from gingerbread to pumpkins. She heard bits and pieces of songs, vaguely familiar but too faint to recognize.  
  
Finally, it all came to a stop.  
  
Xander said what was on everyone's mind. "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."  
  
And indeed they weren't. They were - how to describe it? Xander's Wizard of Oz reference proved oddly apt. This world was done in the too bright colors of Munchkinland. They were standing in a meadow, the grass a more vibrant green than ever seen on Earth. The sky was the blue of a child's coloring book, and the flowers equally intense. Willow tilted her head up to feel the sunshine, noting the unnaturally symmetrical sun in the sky, joined by picture perfect fluffy white clouds.  
  
Xander continued speaking. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that book was no ordinary book. What happened? And where'd Buffy go?"  
  
Giles took in their surroundings a moment before answering. "I would have to agree about the book. It must have been some sort of portal. As for Buffy," he sighed here, "I have no idea. We'll have to start looking."  
  
Willow frowned, remembering something. "When the portally thing started, Buffy got all green and glowy and then she fainted." She started panicking. "I hope she's okay!"  
  
As if in answer to her prayers, a pretty white light started to coalesce in front of them.  
  
"Here enters Glinda," whispered Xander.  
  
The light shimmered for a few moments more, until, to Willow's surprise, it formed into Tara!  
  
But Tara had a dentist's appointment. What was she doing here?  
  
The glowy Tara being spoke.  
  
"Greetings. I would offer you welcome, but fear it is in short supply. What I can do, honored guests, is offer answers to your questions. Speak and I shall aid."  
  
Giles nodded respectfully to Tara. "Thank you. Can you tell us where we are, and where our friend is?"  
  
"And why you look like my girlfriend?" Willow quickly chimed in. "Not that that's bad or anything, but still sort of ooky."  
  
"The land has many names. If you desire to use one, consider it the Enchanted Realm. Old powers, long forgotten even by the wise, dwell here. As for your friend," she paused, "that is another tale to be told. When the right one asks, I will answer. And to you, red witch, I say, this is but a form I wear, to alleviate all fears. This one bears kin to my kind, and as such is an easy fit."  
  
"What do you mean, you can't tell us what happened to Buffy," Xander demanded, "I thought you said you'd help us."  
  
"Those present and those connected are here. And until the right one speaks, some questions cannot be answered." Tara scanned the area, searching. "But I thought him present."  
  
Suddenly she gave rueful laugh. "But of course! I forgot." Now wearing an impish grin that Willow knew so well, Tara flitted over to the nearby wood. "Follow. I may be bound by rules, but there's none that say I can't move things along."  
  
Xander looked at Willow. Willow looked at Giles. Anya just tightened her grip on Xander's hand and sighed. Giles followed Tara.  
  
Tara didn't lead them that far in. Only a few yards, far enough for the patches of sunlight to become few and far between. In a clearing, unlit by sunlight, stood Spike.  
  
Huh? How'd he get here?  
  
Spike noticed them, too.  
  
"What's going on?" he demanded. "Witch's spell went wrong? I'm just sitting around my crypt when I find myself in the middle of a bloody forest!"  
  
"We're still unclear ourselves," Giles responded testily. "All we know is that Buffy activated a portal using some book and it brought us here. To the 'Enchanted Realm', apparently."  
  
Spike cocked his head to the side, processing the information. "Where is the Slayer, anyway?"  
  
"That would be part of the problem. And," Giles flicked his eyes over to the shimmering Tara, "our guide won't tell us."  
  
"Guide?"  
  
"A good as title as any. Speak and I shall aid."  
  
"Except when she doesn't," muttered Xander.  
  
"Alright, then, guide. Mind telling me what the hell is going on?" Spike barked.  
  
"No need for anger. Answers will be given,"  
  
"Cough, yeah right, cough."  
  
Tara continued speaking as if she hadn't been interrupted. "Now that all are present, the tale can be begun.  
  
Every story is a portal to another world. So has it been since the beginning. A sorceress of great power once bound such portals known to her within a single book. For her, she merely wrote them down. But such was her power and theirs, it became something more. For within words there are truths. Finish the tale to learn the truth.  
  
Your friend opened the book and began the tale. All parts are chosen. Rules are given. If you seek to return, the tale must be finished."  
  
"And what tale would that be?" Giles asked.  
  
"You call it Sleeping Beauty. A truth revealed, that. Before the spell, her eyes had already grown weary and longing for rest." Tara paused. "The task is simple - the prince must awake the sleeping princess. He can call on the rest for aid, but only he can break the curse."  
  
Willow looked around the group. Prince? Um, neither Giles nor Xander were exactly Buffy's Prince Charming. More like her Dad and Brother Charming. And Angel hadn't been magically spirited here. Unlike Spike, on the other hand -  
  
"Whoa, hold it. Please, please, please don't tell me that's why Spike is here. 'Cause he most definitely can't be the prince. I'll be the prince. OW!" Xander rubbed his sore shin and glared at Anya. "What was that for?"  
  
"If you're anyone's prince," Anya retorted, "you're mine!"  
  
"I'm the prince?" Spike felt like jumping for joy. He didn't of course, being a master vampire and all. "Spell chose ME to be the prince!"  
  
How did this choosing work? Giles wondered. The guide had implied that it revealed true things. As much as he despised the vampire and worried about his obsession with Buffy, there were some disturbing implications with this.  
  
Tara paid their reactions no mind, continuing with her instructions. An image appeared in front of them, of a path leading up to a castle.  
  
"The prince must travel to the Forbidden Mountain. He must go alone, but if he needs aid, he may call on each of you once. However, when he reaches the gates of the castle, he can ask for aid no longer."  
  
I must warn you, the dark fairy who rules the Forbidden Mountain will not lose her prize with grace. Maleficent will fight you at every turn."  
  
Spike snorted, "Bring it on. I bet I won't need any help, be done by daybreak."  
  
"Perhaps. Remember, all the strengths and weaknesses of your kind remain. Do not mock proffered aid." Tara looked each one of them in the eye. "That is all."  
  
With a flash, she disappeared, taking Giles, Willow, Xander and Anya with her. Spike was once again alone in the middle of the forest.  
  
Not that he cared. That crew would just slow him down. He started down the path, off to rescue his Slayer.  
  
***  
  
Author's Note: The story should pick up a bit from now on, since the exposition is covered. Many gratuitous appearances of other fairy tales will hopefully ensue. And by the way, I don't own Disney's interpretation of Sleeping Beauty. In case, you know, you thought I did. Maleficent was way too cool a villainess to pass up ^__^.  
  
As always, review! 


	3. Buffy's Dream, Part One

Thanks for reviewing: tofu_slayer, Onyx and S., Lucky Starz, A Watcher, ms trick, twisty-treat, and RoboShiflo.  
  
I know it's been awhile since I updated this, but now I've actually got a nice little outline done up and a clue about where I'm going. Updates will probably be sporadic still, but I hope they will be a little more consistent.  
  
Interlude  
  
Buffy was standing in the middle of a meadow. Part of her realized that this was very strange and that she was supposed to be helping Giles in the Magic Box, but she ignored that part and simply accepted the surroundings for what they were.  
  
The meadow was empty of any signs of life. Tall grass swayed gently in the wind, butterflies flitted from flower to flower, and that faint buzzing of insects in summer hummed through the air. It had a faintly unreal quality that reminded Buffy of her dreams last year when they had called upon the Primal Slayer. But in those dreams, even peaceful moments like this had held a sense of impending danger. Buffy didn't have that feeling here.  
  
With nothing better to do, she picked a direction and began walking. As she moved, she realized her clothes had changed. Gone were blue jeans and a tank top. In their place, she wore a gray-blue dress with a long skirt. It swished with every step she took. Buffy didn't spend much time pondering her change of clothes. It was all part of the background for this strange meadow scene.  
  
She walked until she came to a creek. Buffy paused for a moment, then knelt down and peered into the water. Her reflection stared back at her, the exact image she had seen in the mirror that morning.  
  
The water rippled. The face she saw changed, grew younger. Buffy now saw herself as she had been five years ago.  
  
"A lot has changed since then," a voice said over her shoulder. Buffy looked up and saw her sophomore self standing there, wearing the dress she had faced the Master in. "You were younger, more innocent. You were going to be the first Slayer to live past twenty five. The first to go to college and graduate. The first Slayer to retire and spend the rest of her days behind a white picket fence. You didn't know how you were going to work that, but you were going to do it anyway."  
  
"What is this?"  
  
"This?" the past Buffy gestured, waving her hand to indicated their surroundings. "This is a dream."  
  
"Why am I dreaming?"  
  
"Because you're asleep."  
  
Buffy nodded. That made sense. She turned her attention back to the water. The Buffy of sophomore year was gone, replaced by a man she knew so well. Angel. His image was smiling at her, that faint smile she knew as the only sign he ever gave of being happy.  
  
"You were so pure and innocent. He loved you for that, you know." Buffy knew even without turning around that Angel now stood there. "You gave him the light he so desperately wanted and he gave you the support you so desperately needed. A match made in heaven, the two of you. Or so you thought."  
  
"It was."  
  
"It was for a time," Angel corrected, "but things changed, didn't they?"  
  
Angel-in-the-water rippled, grew fangs and that uniquely evil look that only Angelus could wear. Buffy jumped to her feet and drew away from the image.  
  
Angelus stood by the water now. He smiled. "He hurt you, didn't he? For all the strength you showed the world, he broke bits of you inside."  
  
Buffy watched him warily. "I survived."  
  
"So you did," Angelus agreed, displaying an amount of reasonability he never had shown before. "But did you?"  
  
Buffy scowled. Her mind was growing a little more aware, and now she was getting frustrated with this. "What's going on? What's with all the vague questions?"  
  
"You'll find out."  
  
"When?"  
  
"When it is time for you to wake up."  
  
Buffy clenched her fists tightly. "Can't you give me a straight answer?! Who are you?"  
  
"You know who I am."  
  
Angelus vanished. No one else appeared in his place.  
  
"At least this episode of This Is Your Life is over," she muttered. With nothing better to do, she started forward towards the creek and knelt again. All the water showed her was herself.  
  
Buffy yawned. Suddenly, she felt very sleepy. She curled up beside the creek bed. As she closed her eyes, it vaguely registered that the image in the water had changed.  
  
It now showed Spike walking through a forest.  
  
***  
  
That's that for now. Hopefully, I'll get the next chapter posted tonight. 


	4. Chapter Two

Chapter Two  
  
Spike walked down the forest path, with a little cocky swagger in his step. Sunlight trickled down through the tree branches, but not in a particularly fatal way. A few patches hit the path, but were easily avoidable.  
  
Spike was in an excellent mood.  
  
All this time, the Slayer had insisted that she hated him, he was sick and twisted, and any feelings he thought they shared were all in his head. Toss in a bit of magic, and it turns out that she's been telling lies.  
  
As best as Spike understood it, Buffy accidentally sucked them all into a fairy tale. Spell casts her as Sleeping Beauty and him as Prince Charming. Spike debated whether or not that made him a ponce. Nope, it didn't. It was going to get him the girl, wasn't it?  
  
He strolled through the woods a bit, confident that he could find this Forsaken or Forbidden Mountain or something, find Buffy, give her a good wake up kiss (he smiled at that) and go home, victorious.  
  
Full of such thoughts, Spike walked down the wooded path, absently avoiding sunny patches. This was going to be so easy.  
  
"OW!" Spike tripped back and rubbed his throbbing nose. He had crashed headlong into a - troll?  
  
He noticed that the path had ended as a big river suddenly cut through the forest. A sturdy well built bridge made a graceful arch over the rushing water. And at the bridge's opening was guarded by a ten-foot creature that could only be a troll.  
  
You have got to be kidding me, Spike thought.  
  
"Where do you thinks you a-going, puny hewmon?" demanded the troll in a gurgley, gravelly voice.  
  
"Well, I thinks I'm going to cross that bridge," Spike answered.  
  
"Then you gots to pay a toll."  
  
"Yes, well," Spike wracked his brain. This sounded vaguely familiar to him. Dru had a phase once where she was obsessed with children's stories. There was one with a troll and a bridge, come to think of it. "I don't think I can pay the toll. But there's someone coming behind me, my, uh," Spike thought back to the story, "my brother, now he can pay your toll. So if you'll just get out of the way and I can be on my way and he'll come along and give you the money."  
  
The troll didn't buy it. "You thinks I'm stupid? I hears that one before. Tasty goats tell it." The troll loomed over him. "No more goats, now. Pay toll or leave!"  
  
Damn.  
  
"Right, then. If that's how you want to play it." Spike snarled, bringing forth his game face. "Then let's have a go at it."  
  
"Ho ho ho, puny hewmon. You thinks you can fight me?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah I think I do." Spike charged the troll. The troll laughed and batted him away. Hard.  
  
Spike hit the ground rolling and just barely managed to twist away from a spot of sunlight. Even so, his back felt a little singed. He jumped to his feet.  
  
The troll watched impassively.  
  
Spike reconsidered his plan of attack. He stalked forward slowly, this time. When the troll moved to swing, he stepped to the side and jumped onto the troll's back, bringing his fangs into its neck.  
  
The troll howled, grabbed him like an irritating insect, and threw him to the ground.  
  
Spike hit with a thud. He staggered to his feet. This was going to hurt. Even now, he felt bruised forming. Spike stepped forward, wincing a little as he put weight on his left leg. Fell a little too hard on that one.  
  
"Puny hewmon still thinks he's a-gonna win? I no hurt, you lots of hurt." The troll laughed a big belly laugh. "You going nowhere, puny hewmon."  
  
Spike growled. He was a vampire. A master vampire, dammit! He had killed two Slayers, fought and loved another, and no dirty troll was going to stop him from going where he wanted.  
  
He charged.  
  
This time, he made a better accounting for himself. The troll sported a cut or two, along with a good lump on the head, by the time Spike was flung to the ground again.  
  
"Puny hewmon, I always wins. That's the rules."  
  
Rules. Rules! The guide girl, the one who looked like Glinda, talked about rules. And about aid. Spike gritted his teeth. He might be able to defeat the troll, but it would take more time than he felt like taking. He wanted to get to Buffy as soon as possible. Spike eyed the troll. The troll eyed him back, smirking faintly.  
  
"I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered. "Hey! Guide Girl! You said I could call up the Scoobies to lend a hand. Guide Girl, where are - "  
  
The being who chose to look like Tara appeared before him.  
  
" - you?"  
  
"You called and I answered. Who do you desire to come to your aid?"  
  
"Anya," Spike said without hesitation. Demon Girl's the only one who wouldn't lord it over him. She understood what it was like to be the odd demon out.  
  
"Done."  
  
Tara vanished, leaving Anya in her place.  
  
"Spike, what am I doing here? What is that overly large monster doing leering at me? What's going on?" she demanded.  
  
Spike pulled her aside. "I need to cross this bridge and that pillock of a troll won't let me. I can't swim because the current's too fast and I can't beat the bastard up."  
  
"I thought you didn't need any help," she sniped irritably. "Xander and I were about to have sex in this lovely house we got transported to - "  
  
"Uh-huh, that's just great. Can't you just, you know, talk to it? Make it move?"  
  
"Ask nicely."  
  
Spike rolled his eyes. "Would you please help me by dealing with this troll?"  
  
"Much better." Mollified, Anya marched over to the troll. "Excuse me."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Can my friend cross your bridge?"  
  
"No. You have to pays the toll to cross me bridge."  
  
Anya's eyes lit up. "Oh! Reasonable exchange of services and goods! Spike, I can't believe you were going to cheat this troll out of his desired remuneration. What is the toll?"  
  
The troll considered for a moment. No one had ever actually tried to pay the toll before. They either tried to trick him, fight him, or leave. After some serious thought, he said, "Shiny things."  
  
Anya turned to Spike. "Have any shiny things?"  
  
Spike checked his pockets. He pulled out his lighter. "This work?" He flicked the lighter on and off. The troll watched with a greedy expression on his face.  
  
"Nice shiny thing. Good toll."  
  
"See, Spike? The flow of trade and commerce are infinitely superior to fighting. Our troll friend gets his shiny thing and you cross his bridge." She sniffed a little. "Oh, I love capitalism."  
  
Spike gave the troll his lighter. The troll stepped away from the bridge opening and proceeded to play with it. Spike strode onto the bridge and gave Anya a wave before continuing on his way. She winked out, presumably to return to the whelp.  
  
Spike continued on his way. He would have preferred to beat the crap out of that snotty little troll, but this way didn't hurt as much. With any luck, this would be the last time he'd have to actually, shudder, ask for help. 


	5. Buffy's Dream, Part Two

Thanks for the reviews: Lily2122, twisty-treat, artemis66, Shy, and LaurelCrowned1.  
  
Interlude  
  
Someone was gently shaking Buffy. Buffy opened her eyes to see Willow sitting next to her.  
  
"Come along, no time to sleep, there is more to see!"  
  
"Wha?" Buffy mumbled. She was still by the creek in the meadow; only the creek had now gained a bridge. She blinked sleep from her eyes. Was it possible to be tired in a dream?  
  
Willow pulled her to her feet. "You have to cross the bridge."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because you have come to it."  
  
Buffy stared at the bridge. It was simply made, an arch of stone and wood spanning a distance she could easily jump. On the other side, she saw a forest. It looked dark and more than a little scary.  
  
"But I don't want to."  
  
Willow gave her a push. "That doesn't matter. The bridge has been built. You can't stay here."  
  
Buffy looked around the gentle, peaceful meadow, then at the foreboding forest beyond. "But I like it here. The other side doesn't look as nice."  
  
"That's only because you haven't crossed the bridge yet," Willow informed her. "Now go on."  
  
Slowly, Buffy walked up and onto the bridge. Midway, she peered over the side and into the water. Sophomore Buffy and Angel were holding hands and waving at her. Were they saying good-bye or come back? Maybe she should turn around and check -  
  
"Ignore them," Willow told her. "They might belong here, but you don't."  
  
Buffy nodded and finished crossing the bridge. On the other side, it was still a little dark. But she was the Slayer, right? A little darkness never hurt her.  
  
She walked into the woods a little ways, when she found Faith leaning against a tree. Faith was wearing a flowery, pink dress and looked more open and less hostile than Buffy could ever believe she could.  
  
"You came this far," Faith told her, "but you have farther to go."  
  
"I do?"  
  
"You always have farther to go. Haven't you learned that yet?"  
  
The two walked down the path, side by side.  
  
"But what if I want to stop?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Then you stop. But then you don't get to see the next dawn."  
  
The sun was rising over the treetops. Buffy looked up and shaded her eyes from the glare. "It's beautiful."  
  
"Remember that," Faith suggested. "Remember the dawn."  
  
"Because then I won't want to stop?" Buffy guessed.  
  
Faith smiled and nodded. "Yes."  
  
Something in Buffy's mind started to stir. "Can you tell me what's going on?"  
  
Faith shook her head. "No. But when the time comes, you will know."  
  
"That's real helpful." Buffy paused. "Are you Faith?"  
  
"Faith is in prison and you are dreaming. How can I be?" Faith shrugged. "You know who I am."  
  
"So they keep telling me." Buffy sighed and continued walking. She was eager for when this would all make sense. Apparently she had to 'keep going' to get any answers.  
  
Buffy continued down the path.  
  
Faith watched her go and sighed. "I hope this works," she muttered to herself. 


	6. Chapter Three

riddlenut.com and are the sources for the riddles in here  
  
Chapter Three  
  
By the time Spike reached the open road, night had fallen, something for which he was very grateful. In the course of his trip through the forest, he had had to chase a wolf from a little girl (only because she looked like Dawn), try to give directions to a little boy and girl (he had no idea where he had sent them), and point a pretty dark haired young woman to a cottage he had passed by (it was already inhabited by seven dwarves, but whatever). None of this had taken long, but it had still been annoying.  
  
Now that he was out in the open, he hoped to avoid any more interruptions. There wasn't anywhere to go when the sun rose, so he had better get somewhere safe soon.  
  
With that thought in mind, Spike was pleased to finally find a town. Only problem was a high wall surrounded it.  
  
He walked up to the gate and knocked. Nothing. He knocked louder. Nothing.  
  
"Hello! Hey, poor lone traveler out here! Anybody home?"  
  
Something peered over the top of the gate. It bounded down to stand in front of him. It was a sphinx. With the whole head of a woman, body of a lioness things going.  
  
"Do you desire to enter?"  
  
"Yes! Now be a luv and open the gate, would you?"  
  
The sphinx licked her paws a moment. "No."  
  
"No?" Spike opened his mouth to say something nasty. "Then - "  
  
"I won't open the gate on your request alone. But I will open it if you prove yourself worthy."  
  
Okay. That didn't sound too bad. "How do I do that?"  
  
The sphinx smiled, a nice toothy one that Spike could appreciate. "Answer my riddles three."  
  
"Well then, ask away."  
  
The sphinx stretched out, yawned moment, then said:  
  
"I think you'll like this one.  
  
As I went over London Bridge  
  
I met my sister Jenny  
  
I broke her neck and drank her blood  
  
And left her standing empty."  
  
Spike perked up. He knew this one! "Gin." Riddles like that made him long for the old days...  
  
"Very good, vampire. How about this one?  
  
With thieves I consort,  
  
With the vilest, in short,  
  
I'm quite at ease in depravity;  
  
Yet all divines use me,  
  
And savants can't lose me,  
  
For I am the center of gravity."  
  
Ugh. That was a bit harder sounding. For the unlife of him, Spike didn't have a clue what the riddle was saying, let alone what the answer was. 'With thieves I consort', so it had to be something bad. The next two lines suggested the same idea, 'With the vilest, in short, I'm quite at ease in depravity'. But just when he starts to figure out the clues, the next line is 'Yet all the divines use me'. Huh? How did we get from thieves to divines? Was it the god of thieves that was the answer? No, because ALL the divines use whatever the answer was.  
  
Spike was starting to get frustrated. What the hell could the answer be? He tried to look at the last two lines. 'And savants can't lose me, For I am the center of gravity'. Those two sort of went together, but seemed to have nothing to do with the previous ones.  
  
Spike thought he was fairly good at riddles. Back before daytime television and such, there really wasn't much else to do sitting around the crypt. Dru had even dragged him to a contest once. He'd lost, but had given a good accounting for himself. Of course, most of that had been in bloodshed.  
  
Something about the contest. Dru had told him something, hadn't she? What was it? 'Tricks in tricks are the stories they tell. Look at the top before digging deep.'  
  
Right then. Try to see if there is a connection. A surface connection. Spike considered the words again. He was starting to get a bit frantic. The sun was rising now, and out in the open like this it would hit him soon.  
  
The sphinx watched him lazily, idly grooming herself. "Either answer or leave, vampire. Or," she said with a shrug, "be dusted."  
  
Don't panic. You've got one more riddle to go, Spike. Just have to figure out this one. What do these have in common?  
  
"V. The letter V," Spike said suddenly, positive that was the right answer. It had to be.  
  
"Well done. One more answered and I'll open the gates for you. Better answer quickly, the sun will shine down soon.  
  
Think of words ending in -GRY. Angry and hungry are two of them. There are only three words in the English language. What is the third word? The word is something that everyone uses every day. If you have listened carefully, I have already told you what it is."  
  
Spike's mind went blank. If the last one was bad, this one was worse! And he didn't have much time left. He couldn't go save Buffy if he was a pile of dust. There was only one thing to do.  
  
"Guide, I need some help here. Send me, uh," who was best for the job? "Send me the Watcher."  
  
"Done."  
  
Giles appeared there, glasses askew and more than a little rumpled. "Spike. What an unpleasant surprise."  
  
"Listen, Watcher, I need to get past this gate here. Sphinx won't let me in unless I answer her riddles, only there isn't enough time to think them through."  
  
"So you need my help?"  
  
Spike shrugged. "You're big with the book know-how. Figured you'd be good at riddles, too."  
  
"Why should I help you?" Giles demanded coldly. This was a perfect opportunity to get rid of the obsessed vampire once and for all.  
  
"Because if I turn to dust, Slayer stays all Sleeping Beauty. Remember that, Watcher?"  
  
Giles really, really wanted to do nothing and let the vampire turn to dust. But Spike was right. If whatever spell had brought them here had cast Spike in role of Buffy's rescuer, then killing Spike trapped them all in this Enchanted Realm.  
  
"What is this riddle?"  
  
The sphinx repeated it. Giles thought a moment. It sounded familiar. Discard the first part, base it on the second - Spike fidgeted impatiently beside him. Giles flicked his eyes at him. He had a good idea what the answer was, but he wasn't going to say it anytime soon. Spike deserved to sweat a little.  
  
Only when the sun was practically upon them did Giles finally speak.  
  
"I believe the answer is language."  
  
"Correct." The sphinx inclined her head slightly in acknowledgement. "The gates will open for the vampire."  
  
Spike dashed through without giving the Watcher a thank you. He needed to get inside and fast, thank you very much.  
  
Giles blinked out to return to the little cottage they were waiting in until this mess was solved. He couldn't say he was surprised Spike hadn't said thank you. The vampire was one of the rudest individuals he had ever met. Unfortunately, Spike was also in love with his Slayer. And it seemed that Buffy might not hate him as much as she had protested.  
  
There was much to think about. 


	7. Buffy's Dream, Part Three

Thanks for the reviews: Rose Madder and golden+girl736  
  
Interlude  
  
The path Buffy was on winded and twisted through the forest. She followed each bend faithfully, until the path finally led her to a cottage set amidst the trees.  
  
With nothing better to do, Buffy entered the cottage. It was much bigger inside than it looked like it could be. There was a party going on. People, some she knew and some she didn't, were laughing and talking and dancing.  
  
While she stood there watching them, Riley came over and pulled her into the dance. They moved awkwardly and out of synch, yet Buffy noticed the rest of the partygoers were applauding the couple for their grace.  
  
"Riley was what you wanted, once," Riley told her as they danced. "A nice man, a solid man, a Prince Charming." She spun away from him and then returned to the dance. "But people change. Even if he could have been the man for Buffy, he was not able to be the man for the Slayer. Who you are and who he is are too far apart. Slayer and soldier, that sounds like it could work. But it didn't."  
  
"I tried," Buffy said softly, "I tried to make it work."  
  
"You did," he agreed. "And so did he. But all the trying in the world can't force two pieces of a puzzle together that are not meant to fit. It was not your fault, and it was not his. Sometimes you have to accept the song is over and move onto the next dance." Riley bowed formally, then left her standing alone on the dance floor.  
  
"But what if no one else asks me to dance?" she wondered out loud. "I'd look silly dancing alone."  
  
Willow and Tara waltzed by her, moving elegantly in time with the music.  
  
"No you won't," said Willow.  
  
"Sometimes you have to sit out a dance or two until the music is right," Tara added before she and Willow were swept away by the crowd.  
  
Now Xander and Anya came by her, this time doing the tango. "Listen to the music," he told her.  
  
"When you hear the right melody, you'll know," said Anya. The two tangoed off, laughing about their mismatched, yet oddly fitting movements.  
  
"But I can't even hear the music," muttered Buffy to herself. She left the dance floor and went over to sit on one of the benches at the side. "How can you dance if you can't hear the music?" She slumped down and stared at the floor, depressed.  
  
"You learn to listen."  
  
Someone was standing in front of her. He reached down and took her hand, pulling her onto the dance floor. A waltz was playing in the background. One two three, one two three...  
  
Buffy found herself moving effortlessly to the music. She and her partner glided along the floor, dancers making way for them like in the movies. As she relaxed and let herself flow with the music, she looked up to see who her partner was.  
  
It was Spike. He was smiling, his eyes full of love and adoration. Buffy couldn't tear herself away from them as they waltzed. She smiled back, losing herself to the music and the beauty of the dance.  
  
Then, as had happened towards the end of every sequence in this dream, Buffy became a little more awake, a little more part of this reality. As Spike spun her about, Buffy was filled with a sense of how very wrong it was.  
  
"No!" She pulled herself away from him, stopping the dance. "I don't care if this is some inner revelation type of vision dream thing. If you're trying to tell me Spike's the guy for me, all I have to say is what have you been smoking? No!"  
  
She ran for the door, as Spike called after her, "The dance has already begun, love. All the protests in the world can't stop it. But it's up to you to decide what the song will be!"  
  
Buffy ignored him as she dashed through the door, down the path, through the woods, and over the bridge, back to the sunlit field where she belonged. This couldn't be right! She wasn't supposed to be destined for, shudder, Spike! This had to be a nonsense dream. Spike must have cast a spell to make it special. It couldn't be as real and powerful as it seemed.  
  
She knelt on the grass in the meadow by the brook. This was all wrong. It had to be. Otherwise, she would be the wrong one. Buffy curled up on the sun warm grass and closed her eyes. It had to be.  
  
Back in the cottage on the dance floor, Xander shook his head and spoke to his companions. "I told you it wouldn't work."  
  
"She's too stubborn," added Anya in agreement.  
  
"We have time left," argued Willow. "The dream isn't finished yet."  
  
Tara spoke up, firmly, "Wait until the end of the dream to give up. She's come along way. She's danced with him. She just has a little farther to go."  
  
The others nodded. There was time. They could fix this. 


	8. Chapter Four

Chapter Four  
  
After spending the day huddling in dank, nasty shed that made his crypt look comfortable, Spike wandered down the streets of the town. The moon was high on the sky, the painful sun having gone down some time ago.  
  
Over the top of the wall, he could see the mountain, a dark and foreboding silhouette against the night sky. According to Tara, that was where Maleficent held Buffy, where he had to go.  
  
If only he could figure out how to get there. Once he had entered the town, his sense of direction had gotten messed up. The streets twisted and turned, reminding him of all those little towns back in the Europe.  
  
He had hated those towns. So easy to get lost in. You know what? He hated this town now.  
  
Grumbling, Spike tried for the umpteenth time to find the exit. The right exit, that is. Not the one he had come through, but one on the other side. Only, at the moment, he could find neither.  
  
Spike decided now was the time to try the roof top route. He stared at them warily. A bit more thatch and straw than he liked, but hopefully if he shimmied on up he could get his bearings.  
  
One good jump, courtesy of his vampiric powers, sent Spike to the roof of the nearest house. Just barely keeping his balance, he scanned the area to see in what direction the gate was. Finally picking it out, he marked the location and started to climb down, then thought the better of it. Instead, he carefully picked his way across the rooftops towards the presumed exit.  
  
"Bloody hell!"  
  
Spike tumbled down the too slick slate of one house's rooftop, only to land in an undignified heap on the street.  
  
A creaky old laugh mocked him as he stood up and dusted himself off. "Quite impressive, jester. Do you have any other tricks you do at the fair?"  
  
Spike turned to see an old woman, sitting in a rocking chair under the eaves of the ill-fated slate roofed house. Her lips were curved up in a toothless old smile as she watched him from her post.  
  
He gave her snarl, face flickering into its demonic form.  
  
"And what a nice trick that is, jester. Though you'd be hard pressed to do that one in daylight."  
  
"Sod off." Spike turned to stomp away.  
  
"Now that's not a nice thing to say to an old lady. Especially one who might help you."  
  
Spike paused and looked at her, interested. "What's that?"  
  
The old woman leaned back into her chair. "You know, I think you're right. You should go on your way and pay no mind to little old me."  
  
Spike was in her face in an instant. "What. Did. You. Say?"  
  
"You should control that temper of yours a bit better, jester. It will only lead to you losing those you love," the old woman chided, not in the least bit threatened.  
  
Spike pulled himself away from her. "Who are you?" he demanded.  
  
"An old woman enjoying the night air. And who are you?"  
  
"My name is Spike. Want to know how I got that name? I - "  
  
"Got it by driving railroad spikes into your victims' heads. Yes, I know about you William the Bloody Awful Poet."  
  
Spike gaped at her. He thought there wasn't anybody left alive who knew about that.  
  
"This is the Enchanted Realm, William. You shouldn't be so surprised. All lot of things forgotten are known here."  
  
"You said you can help me," he insisted. "How?"  
  
"And why should I help a nasty tempered vampire like you? What are you doing that's so special?"  
  
"You're the all-knowing one here, you figure it out."  
  
The old woman said nothing. She merely watched him intently.  
  
"Slayer's under some sort of spell. She's being held up into the castle in the mountains and I want to get her out of there." There. He'd said it. Now would she help?  
  
"Why do you care about the fate of a Slayer, vampire?"  
  
"Because I love her," he bit out.  
  
"Do you? How do you know it's love, and not mere lust for the forbidden?"  
  
"Because I care about her! I don't want to see her hurt, I don't want to see her friends hurt, even the ones I don't like very much. Because I'd rather her be happy than for me to be. Because if it was just some stupid crush like she keeps telling me, then I could leave her to her problems and go out and get myself a life!"  
  
The old woman did not respond for a minute or two. Then she said, "I believe you, vampire. I believe you love the Slayer."  
  
"So will you help me?" After a moment's thought, he added, "Please?"  
  
"Now were those words so hard to say? I will help you, vampire. I have a map that will lead you to Maleficent's castle, and I will give it to you." The old woman reached into her sleeve and pulled out a tattered old scrap of paper, barely legible lines marking it.  
  
Spike quickly snatched it from her hand and unrolled it.  
  
The old woman sat back with a sigh. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither were a vampire's manners.  
  
Carefully reading the map, Spike was able to make his way to the correct gate. When he got there, however, he found it as solidly locked and barred as the one he had found before it.  
  
"Hello? Anybody there? Gatekeeper? Sphinx? Innocent passerby here needs to get out!"  
  
From an old wooden hut leaning against the wall, an old hunchbacked man wandered what. "Who's there? Somebody asking for the gatekeeper?"  
  
"Yeah, me. I'd like to get out of this place, if you don't mind," Spike informed him.  
  
"Can it wait until morning? Opening the gate takes an awful lot of work and I have other things to do," the old man complained.  
  
By now Spike was getting an idea of how things worked in this realm. "What do you have to do?" he asked.  
  
"Well," the old man began, "I'm a baker by trade. The gate's more of a side thing, if you get my meaning. I have to have all my baking done by morning if I'm going to have a good day. And if you keep bothering me about opening the gate, then I can't do that, y'see?"  
  
"So if I did the baking, you'd open the gate?"  
  
The old man thought about it a minute. "That would work. As long as you don't burn anything, folk would eat it happily enough. It's a deal. Bakery's back in the shed."  
  
Spike went in and stared at the piles of ingredients and dough and who knows what else. He had no idea where to start. Thankfully, he had a plan.  
  
If he remembered correctly, Red was a pretty decent chef when she had to be.  
  
"Guide Girl - "  
  
"Yes?" The Tara being or fairy or whatever she was now stood there, an eternally patient look on her face.  
  
"I'd like to have Willow come and help me."  
  
"Done."  
  
And in an instant, Willow was standing where Tara had been. She took one look at her surroundings, then turned to him and asked, "What is it that you need me for?" She'd obviously been filled in by the others how this worked.  
  
Spike quickly explained the situation to her. Willow's lips quirked up as she listened to him. "So exactly what is your contribution going to be?"  
  
"I'll stir," he offered helpfully.  
  
Willow gave him an incredulous look. "Why don't you go see if the gate baker man opened it up yet?"  
  
"You don't think I can cook?"  
  
"I think this will go faster without explaining everything to you."  
  
"And when this is over?"  
  
"You owe me big time."  
  
Spike nodded. Made sense. He headed for the door.  
  
"And Spike?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"If I find out that you hurt Buffy, I will burn you from the inside out."  
  
"Thought that was if I even thought about Buffy," he pointed out.  
  
Willow smiled. "Serious Scooby discussions have come to the conclusion that if Buffy's funky dream world has you as her prince, we will support her decision. And then gleefully torture you if you screw up."  
  
"Fair enough." Spike gave her a wave. "Hopefully, it won't come to that."  
  
He went out the gate, cheerily flipped the old gatekeeper the bird, checked his map, and started walking.  
  
***  
  
High up in the Forbidden Mountain, Maleficent watched the vampire go on his merry way.  
  
"This is not going according to plan at all. The vampire is on good terms with his helpers, he's successfully completed all the obstacles he has confronted, and he will be here within the day!"  
  
Angry purple lightening arced across the room and struck a cowering minion. Maleficent didn't notice.  
  
"And the girl - those fairies are meddling with her sleep, I know they are. Making her dream that, that vampire is her Prince Charming! It's positively laughable!" She threw herself into her throne. Her lips curved up in a cruel smile. "What a pleasant turn of fortune it is that she agrees with me. I'll have to be very careful to keep her in that belief when that cursed vampire gets here!"  
  
A thought occurred to the dark fairy. "My pet," she crooned to the crow perched on her throne. "My pet, fly down to the giant who guards the entrance to my fair castle. Tell that when the vampire comes, set him to an impossible task. One the vampire has no chance of completing. Do you understand?"  
  
The crow cawed an answer and flew off to do her bidding.  
  
"Things should be working out very nicely now. The vampire doesn't come, the girl remains asleep, and things turn out happily ever after - for me."  
  
Maleficent stretched out in her throne, her gloating laugh echoing throughout the halls. All her minions cowered in their places, fearful of their mistress. 


	9. Buffy's Dream, Part Four

Thanks for reviewing: twisty-treat, RoboShiflo, LuckyStarz, and artemis66.  
  
Interlude  
  
Buffy lay curled up by the stream, back where she had started. Her mind was a mass of confusion. For once, the clarity that so often eluded her throughout the dream remained. And she knew, without a doubt, that this was where she belonged. In the sunny field, where if she looked in the water she could see a long ago Buffy and Angel smiling and together. Where she wasn't dancing with Spike. No, definitely not.  
  
"You think too much," a familiar voice announced. Buffy raised her head to see her mother kneeling beside her. "The clarity you fight for in these dreams only keep you from the truth."  
  
"I like to know what's going on," Buffy answered warily, moving to her feet.  
  
"When you are awake, that is good. But you are sleeping now. It is the time to watch, to see what unfolds. To be a passive observer and learn from what your mind reveals. This dream is no trick, Buffy. Everything here belongs to you. Only you. Even the pieces you don't want to admit to owning."  
  
"Then where are the hot guys with the massage oil?" Buffy asked, in her classic 'witty repartee' voice. "And the calorie-free triple chocolate sundae?"  
  
"That sort of dream is a moment's thought, your mind resting from all the troubles of the day. This dream is about deeper things." Joyce reached out and held Buffy's hand. "Relax, let it flow. See where it takes you. Think no more about right or wrong. Simply feel."  
  
"So I won't wake up with the crazy Spike lust?" Buffy demanded, refusing to give in just yet.  
  
"Only if that's what you really want," reassured Joyce. "Let go. Close your eyes. Just let yourself be."  
  
"But - "  
  
"It will all be okay. Nothing here is binding. Consider this only an exploration of possibilities."  
  
Buffy found herself lulled by the words and relaxed. She slowly closed her eyes and let Joyce pull her forward a few steps.  
  
"Open," her mother's voice whispered in her mind.  
  
Buffy was standing inside a small cottage. In front of her stood Giles, Willow, and Xander. In very funny clothes.  
  
"They were going to make it pink, but I insisted on red," Giles told her.  
  
Xander poked him in the shoulder. "I lucked out. I got to be blue."  
  
Willow simply watched them, laughing a little. Her own green dress swished gently with her chuckles.  
  
Buffy felt herself want to question, to demand answers for this strange sight. But she obeyed her mother's directive and allowed herself to simply flow. She felt herself slip into that dazed awareness and acceptance that had filled so much of this dream.  
  
"You should go out now," Giles told her, giving her a push to the door.  
  
"And gather some berries," Willow added, handing her a basket.  
  
"Don't worry about us, we'll be fine," Xander said as he helped her out the door.  
  
Buffy stood outside the cottage a moment and then started walking down the path. She felt a little lonely, walking all alone. But she didn't mind it too much.  
  
She finally came to stream lined with bush after bush of blueberries. Finding a seat on a nearby rock, Buffy idly began to pick berries while looking into the water.  
  
At first she saw only herself. Then the water rippled, and showed a scene she'd never seen before.  
  
A man she vaguely recognized, with sharp cheekbones and blue eyes, was being mocked by a group of people. Buffy found herself a little angry on the poor man's behalf. He seemed like a good man. She watched him confront a beautiful woman. She never heard a word, but obviously the woman had said something to hurt the man's feelings. He ran into the street crying, only to meet up with a dark beauty who Buffy thought also looked familiar.  
  
"That is the past," someone informed her. Buffy turned away from the water to see Dawn sitting on a rock near her. "Everything that is of the now comes from the then. The man he is now is based so much on the man he was then. Remember that."  
  
Buffy nodded thoughtfully and then returned to look into the water.  
  
It now showed the same man, a little more familiar in appearance now. He was talking, no, pleading, to a woman who looked an awful lot like Buffy. But in her dream state, Buffy was merely observing, not making any connections. The man had done something wrong and was trying to apologize, but the woman wouldn't listen. She shut her door in his face instead. Buffy was sad that the woman hadn't even listened to the man's apology. The fact that he tried should count for something, shouldn't it?  
  
Yet another ripple, and now the man was standing in a dark room, his hands tied above his head. He was badly beaten and in pain. A beautiful blonde stood near him. She was the source of all the pain, and would keep hurting him unless he answered her questions. But the beaten man was protecting someone, someone special to him. He said nothing.  
  
"Near-past and near-future, so close the now to be the present. They say much, don't they, these frozen moments?"  
  
"What about the far future?" Buffy asked. "What does that say?"  
  
Dawn gave an impish smile. "It has yet to be. So many possibilities stem from a single moment. There is nothing to be said for them, for they are not yet even the beginnings of a thought." She stood and began to leave. As if remembering something, Dawn turned to Buffy and said, "The only thing that can be said is choose your future wisely. Don't spend it sleeping. Wake up and live."  
  
Buffy nodded and watched Dawn go. When the girl was no longer in sight, she picked up her basket to walk back to the cottage.  
  
On her way, she met a strange man. He reminded her of the one she saw in the water.  
  
"We've met before," he told her.  
  
"We have?"  
  
"Yes. You know that's true." He smiled at her and took her basket away and set it on the ground. "Do you want to dance?"  
  
Buffy smiled, remembering a little. "That's all we've ever done."  
  
A familiar song swelled throughout the air.  
  
And they danced.  
  
***  
  
Maleficent stared into her crystal and let loose a thousand curses. The girl was not supposed to do that! She was supposed to remember her hatred and hold it strong, to cling to the belief the vampire was her enemy and nothing else.  
  
No matter. This was only a small problem. Regardless of the powers such dreams were said to hold, Maleficent knew that it was one thing to dream, and another for the actions to carry over into reality. The girl may believe herself to be in love right now, but even the accursed meddlers would agree she was not thinking with her mind.  
  
They would say the girl was thinking clearly, though, only this time with her heart. But Maleficent knew this girl's history. She had ignored her heart before. There was still a chance Maleficent could win. 


	10. Chapter Five

Big hugs for reviewing goes to: Turn Off The Lights, Moluvsnumber17, wolf116, Kari Mouke, artemis66, fashiongrrl, QteCuttlfish, double-d2, and Firetail.  
  
Chapter Five  
  
It was maybe an hour or two before sunrise when Spike arrived at the gates to the Forbidden Mountain. The old lady's map had been surprisingly helpful, showing him shortcuts and marking danger zones. One town he had been able to bypass looked like it was infested with rats. Spike suppressed a shudder. Rats were only for eating, and that was only if you were starving.  
  
Thankfully, the rat town was behind him as he stood in front of an enormous gate. It was at least five Spikes tall, and if he had to guess, Spike would say it was made of solid steel. The dull silver color gave off the faintest shimmer in the moonlight.  
  
Okay. How to get over the gate and into the fortress is the question. And this method had to be accomplished quickly. Spike glanced worriedly up at the sky. His instincts told him sunrise was coming sooner rather than later.  
  
Spike studied the gate. It was tucked between two sheer cliffs, its own metal too smooth for any handholds. No convenient carvings for unwanted trespassers. Really, the gall of this Maleficent bird, not making it easy for him to waltz right up and rescue Buffy.  
  
Well, there was really only one option left. Spike marched up until he was standing smack dab in front of the gate. You can never say that this vampire was a coward. They wouldn't leave the door open? Then he'd have to get himself an invite.  
  
As he raised his fist to knock, the gate started to vibrate. With a horrible screaming noise, as if its hinges had never been oiled, the gate creaked open. Spike tripped backwards, quickly reassessing his plans.  
  
A giant stood there, massive hand easily propping open the door. His matted, greasy black hair almost brushed the top of the gate, and he looked as if one stomp of his boot could turn Spike into vampire paste. His entire body blocked the opening in the gate, a good twelve feet or so across.  
  
Summoning every inch of his bravado, Spike shouted, "Hey, mate! Yeah, you up there! Mind stepping out of the way a bit to let a bloke in?"  
  
The giant grunted then scanned the area a moment, obviously not seeing where this annoying noise was coming from.  
  
"Hey! I'm down here!"  
  
The giant finally focused in on Spike and bent down a little, tilting his head in the vampire's direction. As he did so, Spike noticed that up on the giant's shoulder perched a small black bird. After staring at the bird, Spike realized it was in fact a rather big crow, as these things go. It was only next to a giant it looked small.  
  
In a rumbling, deep voice, the giant said, "Who goes there?"  
  
Spike rolled his eyes. "Me, you big lummox. You know, the one standing right in front of you." Then he realized he had just insulted someone who could crush him with a thought. "No offense."  
  
"None taken, puny vampire." The giant peered at him a moment. "What do you want?"  
  
"I want you to let me in," Spike snapped. If the giant wasn't going to get ticked, then he sure was.  
  
The giant straightened. "I can't do that. I have my orders."  
  
"Screw your orders! You're a giant, right? Big with the evil and all? Shouldn't you be off ransacking villages and whatnot? Not guarding some witch's gate. That's for the hired help," Spike argued, a little desperate. He needed to get in! Buffy was here! He could feel it.  
  
The giant just stood there, listening.  
  
Spike forged on. "C'mon, what you gonna do? Gonna help your fellow servant of evil - I'm a VAMPIRE here, you know, not some bloody white knight - or are you gonna be a good little big boy and follow the rules? What are you mate? Proud giant or bootlicking minion? "  
  
The giant said nothing. Spike wondered if he had gone too far and was about to get squished. Then -  
  
"HO HO HO!" The giant laughed, vaguely reminding Spike of that slug creature. You know, the one in the movie with the girl in the gold bikini and all that rot about the dark side. "You are a daring little vampire, indeed. I think I will let you inside the gates."  
  
Spike bounced on his toes, ready to charge in and go find Buffy and save the day.  
  
"Not so fast. You have to do something for me," the giant said.  
  
What was up with these people and all this quid pro quo nonsense? Couldn't he ever find some little nobody he could beat up to get what he wanted? That's the way Spike liked to do business. It's no fun when the other guy has the upper hand.  
  
The giant seemed confer with the crow. A minute or two later, the bird gave a caw and flew off.  
  
"I have a flock of sheep. They are very wild and hard to keep track of."  
  
"And what do you want me to do?"  
  
The giant smiled. "I want you to take them out to graze today. I don't think I feel like doing it myself. You should be able to keep a herd of sheep in a sunlit field, shouldn't you?"  
  
Spike cursed. Daytime. Sun. All those things he couldn't do - just a bit of sunlight would send him up in flames. And a dusty Spike isn't going to be able to do much; rescuing Buffy would be out. Maybe if he -  
  
"No friends, vampire. You can't get out of this by calling on your friends." The giant smirked. He knew there was no way Spike could possibly do this task. Maleficent would be pleased.  
  
"No *friends*?" Spike stressed the word. "You sure about that?"  
  
"I'm not going to make this easy for you. No asking for help from any *friends*," the giant repeated, mimicking Spike's stress.  
  
Spike smirked. Just had to clarify that point. Then he called out, "Guide Girl, mind sending me the whelp here?"  
  
Tara appeared, smiled, gave the most minute of salutes to Spike before being replaced by Xander. The man stood there, blinking, obviously very confused.  
  
"Why did you do that?" the giant demanded. "That gets you nothing. The rules are clear, vampire. You could not ask any friends to help you."  
  
Spike simply smiled, swaggered over to Xander and slung his arm about the other man's shoulder. "Hey, Harris, we friends?"  
  
"Hell, no, Dead Boy," he retorted, jerking away.  
  
"Well, then, problem solved. You," he said to the giant, "told me I couldn't ask any friends for help. Now, the whelp here is no friend of mine. Therefore, I can ask him for all the help I want."  
  
Spike seriously hoped he had read this world right. If he was correct, then the giant had to abide by the rules he set down. If not, then he and Xander were about to become very, very thin.  
  
Thankfully, it turned out that he did have a clue. Grudgingly, the giant admitted, "So he's not excluded. Fine. But he still has to agree to do it."  
  
"Do what?" Xander demanded. "What's going on?"  
  
"See, the thing is," Spike explained, "the giant here won't let me in unless his sheep get taken care of for the day. Since I'm not exactly sun- proof, I was thinking you do it."  
  
"So you're going to palm your work off on me."  
  
Basically. "C'mon. If we want the Slayer to wake up and get back to the real world, I got to get in that castle up there. Can't do that unless I get past the gate and I can't do that unless the giant lets me in. You follow me?"  
  
Xander did. However, there was no way he was giving Spike what he wanted that easily. "Maybe I'll help you." Xander smiled. "If you ask really, really nicely." He wanted to see that vampire squirm.  
  
Spike growled. Being nice to the rest of the Scoobies was okay. Minding his manners for strange old ladies on the street was doable. Didn't like it, but he could do it. But to be make nice to Xander, now that was asking a lot.  
  
He looked up at the castle, perched high in the mountain. Buffy was in there, waiting for him. The love of his unlife was there, and if he reached her, he might be able to get more than just a crumb. This whole bizarre world and their roles in it came from Buffy. The Tara fairy had said so. And in Buffy's world, it seemed that he and Xander had to get along. And what Buffy wanted -  
  
"Xander, would you please do me a favor and help me? I would very much appreciate it," Spike said, each word grudgingly spoken, like a little boy being polite only because his mother told him to.  
  
"Can I hear that again, this time with some feeling?" Xander cupped his hand to his ear. "What did you want to say?"  
  
Spike glared at him, longing for the ability to rip the human's throat out. The giant, still blocking the gateway, watched the proceedings with interest.  
  
"Would you *please* help me?"  
  
Xander considered it a moment.  
  
"Bloody hell, Harris, what are you waiting for? You know you have to, why don't you just go ahead and do it?!"  
  
Xander decided he had taunted Spike enough. "Okay. Shepherd boy, here I come."  
  
Spike rolled his eyes. Took him long enough. "Good. Now that that's settled?" he turned an inquiring eye to the giant. "I think you need to move over, mate, and let me through."  
  
With almost as grudging an air as Spike's request to Xander, the giant shuffled to the side. Spike marched on through, only to hear the door shut with a resounding clank once he had entered. Ignoring the rather foreboding noise, he proceeded to follow the trail up to the castle.  
  
It wasn't very long before he crossed the castle's drawbridge, easily entering the hall. Clinging to the shadows, he tried to figure out in which direction Buffy lay sleeping. Spike closed his eyes on focused his senses on one thing and one thing alone. Slayer. Buffy.  
  
Slowly, guided by some special instinct, he made his way towards a staircase. So caught up in his tracking, he didn't realize when he was surrounded.  
  
A circle of nasty, pig snout like monsters were closing in on him, pike weapons out and ready. Balls. The minions had found him. 


	11. Chapter Six

Thanks for reviewing so far: Kari Mouke, artemis66 (hope you appreciate further minion mentions), QteCuttlfish, and UltraWoman  
  
Just So You Know: There are some lines used here which are direct or near direct quotes from the script of Disney's Sleeping Beauty. If you can recognize them, you get a cookie.  
  
Chapter Six  
  
The pig-snout minions waved their pikes menacingly at Spike. He stood there, calculating how many stabs he would take before he could crush them into tiny pieces. The minions looked weaker than a fledge just out of the grave. He could take them.  
  
Then Spike noticed something very important about the pikes. They weren't made of metal. They were made of highly polished wood. Like...stakes.  
  
There went the crush, kill, destroy plan. Did he have some curse hanging over him he didn't know about? Even wanker minions like these should be able to hit the heart if there's enough of them. One lucky swing and it's Bye-Bye Spike, Hello Pile-Of-Dust. Which definitely wasn't on his calendar, for, say, at least a few more centuries. Preferably never.  
  
The biggest pig-snout jabbed his stake into Spike's chest. Spike quickly backed away.  
  
"Be's nicey-nice vampire and we's not be making big dust mess." He nodded firmly, increasing the pike's pressure. "Dark lady say so. You no fightses us, we no stakeses you."  
  
Spike held up his hands, classic sign for surrender. "Whatever you say, mate." Backing up slowly, he carefully eased away from the circle. "Now if you don't mind, I'll be on my way."  
  
He was almost out of range when the head pig-snout finally figured out what was going on. Spike quickly stopped moving when a dozen or so stakes pricked his flesh.  
  
"You goes where I says, vampire. And I says you goes to dungeon."  
  
Okay. New plan. These pig-snouts didn't look that smart. "And if you give me some directions, I'll go there right away. No need for you to bother showing me."  
  
The head hog just made a grunting noise and pressed his pike harder. Spike felt it break the skin. "Nuh-uh. You follows us. I not stupid." Head Hog puffed out his chest. "I smartest minion ever. Dark lady say so. And I says you goes dungeon!" He turned to a fellow pig-snout and grunted something. A command, Spike guessed. Then the pike came flying through the air and smacked him in the back of the head.  
  
***  
  
Spike came to slowly, his head aching worse than the fourth day of a three day binge. As he tried to clear his vision, he realized several important things. First, he was, in fact, in a dungeon. The rotting skeletons, dripping water, and dank stone were dead giveaways. Second, his wrists were changed to the wall. Third, and most importantly, a darkly elegant woman was standing before him, leaning slightly on a staff as tall as he was.  
  
She was tall and thin, with dark robes gracefully gliding along her body, as if they would not dare to wrinkle. Her expression was coolly composed, and reminded Spike of Darla on a bad day. That icy, dispassionate face of someone who coldly calculated and controlled everything about them. This must be Maleficent.  
  
Spike had a strong feeling things had just gone from bad to worse.  
  
"So you are awake, vampire," the dark fairy spoke, her voice as icily elegant as her appearance, every word carefully chosen and pronounced. "I was worried you were going to sleep the day away."  
  
Spike tried to straighten as much as his chains would allow. "Yeah, well, getting knocked in the head will do that to you."  
  
"I must apologize for the reception you received, William the Bloody. I believe my men misinterpreted my orders, as it were. A guest should be shown proper courtesy, should he not?"  
  
"I'm sure you're a real gem of a host," Spike sneered, his automatic reaction to any threat coming to the surface. If you've managed to get yourself captured, act like the cockiest bastard in creation. You may still end up dead, but at least you go out with a bang. "Bet you say that to all your prisoners."  
  
Maleficent quirked her lips minutely. "You are as bold as they say you are, William. An admirable quality. I am most impressed."  
  
"Impressed enough to let me go?" Spike asked, pulling at the chains binding him to the wall.  
  
She cocked her head, examining him a moment. "Perhaps. Why are you here?"  
  
Spike pretended to think a moment as he tried to discreetly loosen his bonds. "See, over a century ago, my dad knocked my mum up - "  
  
"I dislike foolish answers, vampire," Maleficent cut him off. "I want to know precisely why you have come here."  
  
"So we're back to vampire now, are we?" Spike smirked. He had almost felt that one link give a little -  
  
"Even if you miraculously break chains enchanted to hold a full grown troll, *I* am still here. All of your admittedly formidable fighting skills would be nothing against my magic. Speak to me, vampire."  
  
"You know why I'm here. I'm here to rescue the Slayer and get the hell out of this place. Bring her back to home, where she belongs."  
  
"Ah, yes. The dashing vampire off to save his sworn enemy turned lady love." Maleficent returned his smirk. "And what makes you believe you shall be the fair prince who will wake our princess from her spell?"  
  
Spike glowered at her, eyes flashing yellow. "Tara said Buffy chose me." He straightened. "Buffy chose me to be her prince. Just like in the story."  
  
Maleficent laughed. It was an echoing, mocking laugh. "You believe those, those do-gooders? My dear vampire, they have their own agenda at work here. If their precious Slayer is under a spell, of course they will try to manipulate the best candidate into freeing her." She smiled at him. "They only told you one ending. There are...other options."  
  
Spike stared at her, uncomprehending. With a wave of her staff, Maleficent created a globe, where within lay the image of the sleeping Buffy. Spike tried to pull forward to get a better glimpse at his Slayer.  
  
"Behold, in the top most tower of my gracious castle, dreaming peaceful dreams, lies the Slayer. She is indeed most wondrous fair. Gold of sunshine in her hair, lips that shame the red, red rose. In ageless sleep she finds repose.  
  
In tales of times past, along comes a prince, strong and brave, to wake the fair maiden with true love's kiss. Off into the sunset they ride, steadfast, for love conquers all."  
  
In accordance with Maleficent's words, the images within the globe changed, from princess to prince to kiss to princess and princess together, happily ever after.  
  
"That is the ending those fairies desire. But do not consider yourself limited, William. Here is another way for the tale to end." Her voice took on that same, almost mocking intonation as she narrated the next clip. "As the princess sleeps, the years roll by, but a hundred years to a steadfast heart are 'bout a day. And now, the gates of the dungeon part, and the prince is free to go his way. Off he rides on his noble steed, a valiant figure, straight and tall, to wake his love with love's first kiss."  
  
Maleficent watched Spike's expression intently. He is almost intrigued by what he sees, she can feel it.  
  
"A more desirable option, indeed. What is a century to an immortal such as you? By then, her meddling, annoying friends and family will be long gone. Who will stand in the way of your love?"  
  
Spike's eyes narrowed. He would be the first to admit that he didn't get on well with the Scoobies all the time. But by the same token, he knew how much Buffy needed them. No, that choice wasn't for him.  
  
Maleficent's lips curved into a smile. So easy to read, this vampire was. In a gentle croon, she spoke again. "Of course, by this we suppose the Slayer actually loves you in return. But we know better, don't we? If she was to awake today or a hundred years from now, you would still be the same disgusting thing to her."  
  
"If that was true," Spike pointed out, his voice as mocking as hers, "then you wouldn't bother locking me up, now would you? Why should you bother with someone who hasn't a chance of mucking up your fun?" He laughed. "I've got what she needs to get a real, proper pick me up." Spike took on his standard lascivious smirk, tongue curled just so. "Isn't that right?"  
  
Maleficent's expression didn't betray her frustration. Instead, she quickly recalculated. Yes, this was a much better plan.  
  
"It would be well within their power for those fairies to make you the one who could break the curse. A spell that changes, for an instant, your obsession with the Slayer into so-called love," her voice said the word sarcastically. "But it cannot change the Slayer's feelings for you." Maleficent waved her hand, revealing a new image in the globe. "See? This is how the Slayer truly feels about you. It is taken from her sleeping self. Watch how she treats you."  
  
The dream Buffy was dancing with someone. Spike smiled when he realized it was himself who she was dancing with. Then Buffy shoved him away and ran out, her expression showing how disgusted she was as she ran back into Angel's arms. With him by her side, she staked the dream Spike.  
  
Spike growled.  
  
"Do you see now? Do you? She does not love, will never love you, William. No pathetic children's fairy tale can change that. But," Maleficent's voice grew seductive, "but, as I said, there are other options. Not all tales require the princess to wake."  
  
The globe shimmered, then once again showed the sleeping Buffy. But this time the colors were brighter, harsher. Buffy's body was sprawled about in a far more sensuous pose than the chaste rest she had enjoyed before.  
  
"In tales of long ago, our intrepid hero finds the sleeping maid and claims her for his own, heedless of her own desires. Forever pliant, she will remain as he desires her to be - his and only his."  
  
Spike surged forward, pulling at his chains with all his might, his face twisted into his demon face.  
  
"I would never - !"  
  
"You wouldn't?" Maleficent raised an eyebrow at his indignant fury. "Isn't that what you really want? You are a vampire, a taker, a conqueror. This isn't about love, this is about having your seductive mortal enemy at your mercy. Besides," Maleficent smiled and once again, the image in the globe changed.  
  
Buffy, chained to a wall much as Spike now was, looked straight up and hissed, "The only chance you had with me was when I was unconscious."  
  
Spike winced at the unwelcome reminder at his botched confession of love. "I didn't then and I won't now," he swore. "And you are stupider than I thought if you thought I would."  
  
"Really? That's what you say?" Maleficent leaned in close to him, and in a whisper said, "What if she was to wake up? I cast the spell, it would be in my power. She awakes, and with only a mere twist of magic, she is yours. Your willing slave. Whatever you desire is what she desires. Perfectly willing in whatever you want. No force necessary."  
  
Spike glared at her, hating how much he was tempted by those words. For Buffy to willingly be his...  
  
"Think about it, William. Instead of being that disgusting dead thing, you would be her world."  
  
"It wouldn't be her."  
  
"I know you, William. I know what you are capable of. Wouldn't it be better to have an echo of her, totally devoted to you, than the one who hates your very existence?"  
  
"It wouldn't be real."  
  
"It would be real enough."  
  
Spike stared at the image now in the globe, of the Slayer lying there, open and for the taking. The demon in him shouted and told him to take this, to take what little he could.  
  
"Get. The. Hell. OUT!" Spike snarled, throwing himself at Maleficent. "You better hope I never get loose. Because then you're going to die. Painfully."  
  
"A most unwise decision and threat," Maleficent said, gracefully turning to leave. "I hope you like this place. If you stand still, the rats might come close enough for a bite. Farewell, foolish vampire."  
  
She swept out.  
  
***  
  
Note: Two or three chapters to go! Hopefully, this will get finished this weekend. 


	12. Chapter Seven

Thanks for reviewing: twisty-treat, Turn Off The Lights, artemis66, kati, and QteCuttlefish.  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
Spike stared at the empty space formerly inhabited by Maleficent, wishing she was there and his chains were gone so he could give her the killing she so desperately needed. One with lots of blood staining her oh- so-perfect robes.  
  
However, he had to get out of here first.  
  
Spike examined the situation. He was standing in a dungeon cell empty of all but him, and out beyond into the corridor he didn't see any guards to whistle over and trick into letting him go. So manipulation was out.  
  
Spike gave his chains a few experimental tugs, increasing the force each time. They were as well built as Maleficent had said they were. Spike made a mental note to try and steal himself a set before leaving this place - good chains were hard to come by. Excellent things to have around. Provided, of course, that you were the one doing the chaining and were not the chained. Unfortunately, Spike was currently on the wrong side of the matter.  
  
Having discarded snapping the chains as an escape method, Spike started to study his surroundings a bit more. The dungeon was a bare bones (sorry, Spike thought to the grinning skeleton across the way) affair, with no helpful tools conveniently lying about should he miraculously be able to lean over and pick them up.  
  
The floor was made of a dark, worn stone that showed dips where water had slowly dripped over the years. Nothing particularly useful there. Spike turned his attention to the walls which his chains were bound to. They were built of the same material as the floor, cut into blocks and stacked. The blocks showed the same signs of age as the floor. Nicked and scratched, with chinks showing at the joinings. Hmm. This was a possibility.  
  
Spike twisted himself to study the blocks his chains were mounted on. One had a crack in a lower corner, and the other didn't look much better.  
  
He pulled his chains as far forward as they would go. Then, he rammed his fists backward, striking at the weak points in the stone. It vibrated a little.  
  
"Ow, ow, ow!"  
  
That hurt. He did it again. It hurt even more. Spike repeated the procedure, smashing his fists against the stone in an effort to shatter it and free himself.  
  
"OW!"  
  
Smash.  
  
"OW!"  
  
Smash.  
  
"OW!"  
  
Smash.  
  
"OW!"  
  
Shatter.  
  
The blocks had finally cracked under the pressure. Spike pulled his aching arms forward. Bloody and bruised, he turned to study the wall. The two stone bricks were now a collection of rock shards and dust.  
  
Still manacled, Spike made his way to the hall, wincing as the metal continued to cut into his hands. He hoped he could avoid a fight for a bit. He had probably broken a finger or two at least in each hand, and the rest were turning funny colors. Spike would need to heal a bit before he could throw a proper punch.  
  
Carefully, trying not to make clinking sounds, Spike made his way up the dungeon stairs. No guards. Not a one. Where were they? Maleficent didn't strike him as stupid. Spike warily watched the corridor he was currently sneaking along. He didn't even sense a mouse scurrying along the floor (not that a mouse would dare mar this castle's grounds). Huh. Maybe Maleficent was so confident in her powers that she gave them the night off?  
  
Spike was now by the staircase, the same one he had so ignominiously been captured near before. Not a single fellow creature was in sight. However, Spike heard the faint strains of drums and shouts a ways a way. He crept toward the noise. Spike wanted to make sure he knew what was going on around this castle, so he knew where not to go.  
  
Spike discovered a side room, tucked away from the castle's main hall. In it, the pig-snouts were shouting and squealing and dancing around a big bonfire. So his first guess was right - the guards did have the night off.  
  
Turning, Spike made his way back to the grand staircase, wincing when he dropped the chains and they clanged loudly against the floor. The partying pig-snouts didn't even notice; they just kept howling and dancing. Relieved, Spike continued on his way to find Buffy.  
  
Spike wandered the twisting maze of halls, listening to his instincts that the Slayer was nearby. After an eternity of wrong turns, he finally found a winding tower staircase. Up there, he knew Buffy had to be.  
  
So far, so good. The minions were having their party downstairs and Maleficent was nowhere to be found.  
  
Spike followed each bend and twist in the stairs faithfully, pausing only to rest a moment. Even for a vampire, getting knocked in the head, smashing your hands to pieces intentionally, and then wandering about for who knows how long (all of this without having a good meal in two days) was very tiring. But he still persevered upward. Buffy was waiting for him.  
  
Finally, Spike came to a big stone door at the top of the stairs. With a push, he was able to force it open.  
  
And lying in the moonlight streaming in from the window, was Buffy. She rested on top of satin covers, hands gently folded. Spike half expected a rose tucked in between them. He could hear the steady, quiet beating of her heart and her slow breaths as she slept. She was fine, only resting.  
  
Spike walked slowly, until he stood by her side. Her blond hair spilled about her gracefully; her lips were tilted up in a faint smile. Whatever dream she was in seemed pleasant. Spike smiled at the sight, and hoped he had something to do with it. A hand, encrusted his dried blood and the manacle still attached dragging onto the sheets, reached out to caress her face.  
  
"Do you really think you will succeed? That you will win her love?"  
  
Maleficent now stood a few feet away. Spike hadn't heard her come in. The dark fairy watched him, her eyes cold. Her grip on her staff was tight, her knuckles an even whiter white than before.  
  
Spike glared at the witch. His demonic face emerged at the presence of a threat, but he made no move to attack.  
  
"Yes, that is the sight you want to greet your true love with. A vampire, covered in blood, standing over her while sleeps, neck exposed. A real Prince Charming," Maleficent remarked mockingly.  
  
Spike stilled. "She knows what I am."  
  
"And that is what she hates. What you are."  
  
"So?" Spike glanced down at the sleeping Buffy. "Better for her to be awake and home and hating me than here."  
  
Maleficent's lips tightened, as she inwardly cursed all the rules those pathetic good fairies had placed on this realm. The vampire's escape had not been noticed (heads would roll for this - didn't those fool minions understand the concept of shifts?) and now that he was in the tower room, her powers were bound from interfering.  
  
But her words were still left.  
  
"She awakes and she'll be whisked away to that little town you so charmingly refer to as Sunnyhell." Maleficent smiled. It was not a comforting sight. "Are you sure you want that? Sure you want your precious Buffy to once again deal with her duties and Glory and all those evils? And I thought you loved her."  
  
Spike ignored her. It had finally occurred to him that if Maleficent wanted to do something, she would have done it by now. Instead, he bent his knee and leaned in closer to Buffy. His face softened into its human countenance.  
  
"Listen to me, William, she'll wake up and hate you, and then return to that wretched town and live a wretched life and die! If she stays here, that won't have to happen!" Maleficent was almost pleading now. Her plan had been so perfect - entrap the Slayer in a spell and convince the vampire to betray said Slayer in a most horrific way. But the vampire was not acting like a true vampire at all!  
  
"You will return to that pathetic existence you had enjoyed before if you wake her. Waiting for any crumb the Slayer cares to throw you, despised by your own kind - is that what you really want? Stop this foolishness and I can give you more. The Slayer at your feet, her friends in chains, the ability to kill - "  
  
Spike straightened and turned to her. He opened his mouth. Good. He finally realized the sense in listening to her.  
  
"Would you shut your gob, woman? I'm trying to have a moment here." Then Maleficent could only watch as the vampire knelt by his lady's side, and pressed a gentle, chaste kiss on her lips.  
  
Buffy's eyes fluttered slightly. Soft, cool lips were pressed against hers. Instinctively, she pressed back. They kissed a moment before Buffy opened her eyes fully and saw Spike beside her.  
  
His hair was mussed and more than a little dirty. The hand that rested gently on her own was bruised and covered with blood, little flakes coming off. A chain encircled his wrist and trailed off the bed.  
  
Buffy smiled.  
  
"Um.what's going on and why am I wearing a dress and lying on some big bed?"  
  
"Long story, pet. I'll fill you in later."  
  
Buffy nodded and slowly sat up. She jerked her head to indicate the coldly furious Maleficent. "Who's she?"  
  
"Nobody important. Just your run the mill impotent bitch."  
  
Buffy yawned. "Okay. Just wanted to know. She's turning funny colors."  
  
Spike looked over his shoulder at Maleficent. She was, indeed. Her pale face was flushed with fury and she looked as if she was about to snap her staff in two.  
  
"Huh. Never thought ruining the villain's evil plan would be so much fun."  
  
"Yeah, it's kind of like ruining the good guy's plan, only I don't punch you at the end."  
  
"What do you do then?"  
  
"This." Buffy reached up and kissed him, ignoring the snapping noise in the background.  
  
"This is impossible!" Maleficent shouted at the couple, her fine control broken. "You are the Slayer! You hated him, I saw it in your dream. How did you suddenly come to, to this?" She waved her hand encompassing the entirety of this sickening romance.  
  
Buffy and Spike broke apart for a moment.  
  
"Exactly what did change, love?"  
  
Buffy smiled. "I worked out some issues."  
  
"Oh. Okay. Well, then - " Spike moved to kiss her again.  
  
"Um, Spike, shouldn't we do something about the evil witch lady?"  
  
"Nah, she'll keep." He tried again.  
  
"Spike! Not in front of people."  
  
"I rescue you and this is the thanks I get?" Spike sat back, pouting. Buffy laughed at him and gave him a good natured swipe across the head. Maleficent rolled her eyes and tried not to gag from this nauseating display of goodwill.  
  
"I'll thank you when we get home."  
  
"Is that a promise?" Spike whispered suggestively into her ear. Buffy gave him a playful push.  
  
"Get your mind out of the gutter."  
  
"But it's so fun down there," he whined.  
  
"Let's just figure out to get back to Sunnydale from here. Wherever here is, anyway."  
  
Spike looked around the tower a bit. "Kind of surprised at that myself. Thought that once I kissed you we went poof back to the Magic Box."  
  
In answer to that, a glowing ball of light appeared in the center of the room. Maleficent stepped away in disgust. The light coalesced into Tara.  
  
"Spike, when we get this straightened out, you are so telling me what's going one," Buffy murmured.  
  
"Congratulations, vampire," the Tara fairy said, a gentle smile on her face as she observed the couple. "You have exceeded beyond our expectations.  
  
And you, Slayer. We are pleased to see you awake. It is our hope that what little we have shown you on your behalf will continue to enlighten you."  
  
"What's she talking about?" Spike murmured to Buffy.  
  
"I'll explain later," she whispered back.  
  
Tara now turned to the villain of the peace. "And you, Maleficent. Once again, it is our pleasure to watch you learn the power of true love. Every scheme you concocted failed, every manipulation and every lie was ignored." Tara gave the witch a most minute gloating smirk. Then she smiled, a big joyous one. "Now our part in the tale has ended. The vampire and his Slayer, along with their friends, will be returned from whence they came."  
  
She bowed slightly.  
  
"I bid you adieu." 


	13. Epilogue

Epilogue  
  
A glow encompassed Buffy and Spike. The world seemed to whip about them a moment. Buffy clenched Spike's tightly as the colors spun and twisted and those odd strains of music bombarded her ears.  
  
Finally, they were standing in the Magic Box. Off to the side were Giles, Willow, Xander and Anya. Only Xander seemed the worse for wear, dirty and smelling faintly of sheep.  
  
"Buffy! You're awake!" Willow rushed over to hug her best friend. "We were so worried!"  
  
Quickly, the rest followed to hug and surround Buffy. Spike stepped away as Buffy was surrounded by her friends. He watched her get embraced into their warmth, easily excluding him.  
  
"Now that the gang's all here, can someone tell me what just happened?"  
  
"Well," Giles began, "we're not quite sure. We think it had something to do with that book you found in the shipment."  
  
"The fairy tale one?"  
  
"Yes. It was some sort of magical portal, actually, and drew us into this place called the Enchanted Realm."  
  
"Where fairy tales were real!" Xander broke in excitedly.  
  
"And you were cast as the Sleeping Beauty," Willow added.  
  
"Which would explain the whole sleeping thing," Buffy said slowly. "But what about Spike?"  
  
"Yes, well, the spell cast him as your Prince Charming," Giles explained.  
  
"I volunteered but Anya hit me. Ow! Like that." Xander rubbed his side where Anya had elbowed him. "Anyway, that sent us all for a big loop- di-loop. C'mon, I mean Spike as your Prince Charming. That's obviously - Ow!"  
  
This time Willow had elbowed him. "I thought we had agreed to support Buffy's decision," she hissed.  
  
Xander managed to look abashed.  
  
"Sorry," he muttered.  
  
Buffy ignored the mini-drama taking place. Instead, she slipped away to the back room, where she found Spike leaning against the wall, lighting a cigarette.  
  
"Giles hates it when you smoke in here," she announced.  
  
"That's what makes it so much fun."  
  
"Figured you'd say that." Buffy joined him in leaning against the wall. "So, you're my Prince Charming."  
  
"That's what the spell said." Spike inhaled and exhaled the smoke, watching it float through the air. "What do you say?"  
  
"I say Prince Charming is an exaggeration," Buffy answered. Spike's face fell a little. Now that they were out of magic land, of course things would change. "But the rest of it is true."  
  
He smiled. "That true?"  
  
"Yeah." They stood there companionably for a moment. Spike was tempted to do something, but followed Buffy's lead instead.  
  
"You know," she broke the silence, "I wasn't just no-brain Buffy for however long it was I was out."  
  
"You weren't?"  
  
"Nuh-uh. I was dreaming." Buffy gained a distant look in her eyes. "It was seriously weird. All these people talking to me and telling me stuff. I think somebody was, I don't know, trying to talk to me or something. They showed me a lot of things I didn't want to see."  
  
Spike waited for her to get to the point.  
  
"I can't say I remember what went on, exactly, but I do know you were there."  
  
"I was?" Spike wore a proud smile. "How?"  
  
"I was at a party, and there was something about waiting for the right song. Then I started to dance with you, but got scared and ran away."  
  
Spike frowned. That sounded a bit like what Maleficent had showed him as part of Buffy's dream. "Then you staked me, right?"  
  
Buffy looked at him strangely. "No. Where'd you get that idea? After I ran away from the party, someone, I think it was Dawn, started showing me all this stuff. I think they were things that had happened to you or will happen to you. It wasn't that clear." The distant look in her eyes grew. "Then I tried to leave, and a stranger came. But he wasn't a stranger because we had met before. And then we danced. Because that's all we've ever done."  
  
Spike turned to her, surprised she was repeating the very same words he had said that awful night. "Buffy?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
He put out his cigarette and let the butt fall to the ground. With a slight bow, he asked, "Do you want to dance?"  
  
Buffy smiled and took his hand, leading him onto the floor. "That's all we've ever done."  
  
He carefully positioned himself, one hand resting lightly on her waist, the other lightly clasping hers. Slowly, he began to lead her in a waltz.  
  
As they danced, he leaned to whisper into her ear, "You know I love you, right?"  
  
She whispered back, "You know I could learn to love you, right?"  
  
Spike smiled and held her closer, murmuring into her ear, "Guess my only chance with you was when you were unconscious."  
  
Buffy tilted her head and pressed her lips to his. "True. So here's your crumb. And," she said with a wink, "if you're good, maybe I'll even give you the whole cake."  
  
***  
  
A group of beings watched the waltzing couple from afar. Some might call them fairies, others godmothers, even more others would say they were agents for the Powers That Be.  
  
"I always love a happy ending," one sniffed, delicately dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief before noisily blowing her nose.  
  
"Have another one, dear," offered one standing beside her.  
  
"Thank you, Flora. You know how I get about a good romance," she replied.  
  
"Hmph. This is very good, but I still think we should have been able to do something to Maleficent!" stated another. "Did you hear what she tried to make him do?"  
  
"You know we can't go after her, Merryweather," Flora scolded, "we have to obey the rules, too."  
  
"Well I don't like them," pouted Merryweather.  
  
"It doesn't matter. Those two are together now and nothing can break them apart. They're going to live happily ever after!" the crying one burst into a fresh set of tears.  
  
"There, there, Fauna," soothed Flora. "They probably won't live happily ever after - "  
  
"But they will at least live," finished Merryweather, "and living can lead to happiness enough." 


	14. The Fairy Tale

The Tale of the Sleeping Princess and Her Prince  
  
Once upon a time, there was a prince who loved a princess very much. But the princess could not love him back. A dark spell had been placed over her, hiding her heart away from the world. No matter how many times and ways the prince tried to show his love, the princess still refused.  
  
But the prince was true to her and tried so hard, that the fairies watched him and took pity on him. They cast a powerful spell that put the princess to sleep, so that all the darkness may seep away from her. Then they placed her in a castle high up in the mountains, to rest and wait for her prince to come.  
  
For the prince, who had not always been so good, had to travel far to reach her side, and prove once and for all that their love was true. It was a long journey and he could not do it alone. Four times, the fairies told him, four times you may call for aid. Four friends of the princess stood by, ready to help him make his way to her side.  
  
In his travels the prince came to a bridge he could not cross. Over on the other side lay the road that led to the castle. "I need aid!" he cried. "I call upon the Bargainer, so that she may convince this monster to let me cross."  
  
And she did.  
  
Then the prince met a Sphinx, the greatest of riddlers, who would not let him pass until he answered her riddles well. The prince was a wise prince, but not that wise. "I need aid!" he cried. "I call upon the Wise One, so that he may see what I do not."  
  
And he did.  
  
The prince then traveled to a gate, which an old man would not open unless the prince did a favor of equal value. "I need aid!" he cried. "I call upon the Witch, whose powers which are beyond me may give this old man what he needs."  
  
And she did.  
  
The prince then reached the castle in the mountains, where he knew his fair princess slept. But a vicious giant guarded the entrance and would not let the prince pass. However, the prince argued wisely and the giant gave him a chance. But the bargain was not one he could meet. "I need aid!" he cried. "I call upon the Worker, so that he may do what I cannot."  
  
And he did.  
  
Then the prince entered the castle and sought his love. But the dark fairy who lived in the castle captured him. She knew the prince, like all people, and darkness in his heart. She promised him his heart's desire, as long as he did not free the princess.  
  
But the prince's love was true. He refused the dark fairy and broke free of his chains, and made his way to the side of the princess. There he gave her true love's kiss, and she awoke. The princess loved him now, for all the darkness within had seeped away.  
  
And the prince and the princess were happy, for they loved and were loved.  
  
The fairies smiled, pleased. 


End file.
